Finding The Best Lawyer To Help After An Auto Accident

A guide for wading through the “wild west” of Internet Legal Advertising

We have all heard the expression “don’t believe everything you read.” Unfortunately, when it comes to advertising on the Internet, there are very few rules. This is why we commonly see personal injury lawyers refer to themselves as “best lawyers” or “super lawyers” or “top lawyers” in Michigan.

It is amazing to see how many lawyers on billboards or websites call themselves “the best lawyer in Michigan.” Humility, or lack thereof, aside few lawyers can attribute these “greatest ever” taglines to credible, independent third-party organizations. In most cases, these are self-proclaimed titles, not the result of comprehensive peer-review by credible third party organizations.

Lawyer advertising on the Internet is still in its infancy. Trying to select a lawyer in this wild, wild, west environment can be challenging. Here are some suggestions for selecting the right lawyer to help after an automobile accident:

Start with Experience
If you need a personal injury lawyer to help you with an auto accident, find a lawyer who handles auto accidents. The State of Michigan, unlike many other states, allows a lawyer to market himself or herself as a Michigan personal injury lawyer without any qualifications, training, certification or litigation experience as a personal injury lawyer. In fact, many of the most aggressive lawyers advertising on the internet for accident and injury cases will be by lawyers who are also advertising for all sorts of completely unrelated areas of law. If you want to find a qualified lawyer to reach the best possible settlement or trial verdict for an automobile accident, you can rest assured the insurance company and defense lawyer will be looking into exactly what type of experience and track record your lawyer has with these types of cases.

Research:
When you’re looking for a good lawyer to handle your auto accident case, do research, talk with friends, peers, other auto accident victims. Read anything you can find about the law relating to Michigan auto accidents. Next, you’ll want to search for Michigan lawyers that can handle cases in your local area and in your specific area of practice (i.e. car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents or wrongful death).

When searching online, be wary of submitting forms to web sites that are large national lawyer referral directories, featuring a wide variety of legal topics, or that have lawyers in each city and state. Often, these sites are set up by non-lawyers and lawyers pay money for the geographical city or county that they want to advertise for cases in. A Michigan lawyer may spend more money to be listed in Detroit or Grand Rapids than Saginaw or Port Huron, for example, but the money that lawyer or law firm is willing to spend is the often the only qualification that is needed to be listed. These national lawyer directories are designed to speak to a mass target audience vs. talking directly to Michigan consumers about their laws and unique challenges. When submitting online forms, it is rare that mass directories can truly recommend the most qualified Michigan lawyer for a specific type of auto, truck or motorcycle case.
Consult with your family lawyer or an attorney you know through social or community activities.
Consult with other lawyers and see who they believe the experts are. Who are the lawyers that the attorneys in your state refer the serious car, truck and motorcycle accident cases to? Often, you will find in many states, including Michigan, it is a very small list of lawyers and law firms who are truly recognized as the experts, the top specialists in each area of personal injury law. Look for a well-established reputation for success with car accident cases.
Look for independent, third-party reviews: There are many excellent lawyer-rating services out there that are well-respected in the legal profession. LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell is widely considered a trusted source for identifying qualified legal counsel in the country. Within their “Selecting A Lawyer” resource, they recommend many of the same objective steps you’ll find here (this list has been customized and expanded to address the most important credentials required to successfully handle auto accident cases in Michigan). Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers are also recognized and trusted designations for finding qualified lawyers.

Learn more about selecting the right attorney in our Car Accident Lawyers Resource Center:

To see how Michigan Auto Law measures up, you may want to refer to verifiable Quick Facts about our firm, or view client videos.